PCA Skin packs a punch against skin "Challenges"

Purchasing serious skin care can be serious work. You have to find someone who sells it and you have to know what you need, how to use it, and of course, use it regularly. Not every skin care line is sold everywhere, either. For example, the impressive, PCA Skin products aren’t sold directly to consumers. You get them from select clinical practices throughout the United States and in 60 countries worldwide (there are some products sold online, but be sure that you are getting the real thing from a reputable store).

There are a dizzying number of PCA Skin products to suit men, women, special needs, and all types of skin with a myriad of daily care and treatment options to purchase. The prices are "reasonable" from around $30-$40 per item, to a high of $99.00 for a high-tech peptide Smoothing Serum. In today’s world, this isn’t out of the ballpark, crazy, just-for-celebrities skin care.

The first thing I like about PCA Skin is the packaging. It’s simple, with pump and dropper bottles for the most part, so you don’t have to stick your fingers into gooey jars of cream (messy, and it contaminates the product more quickly). The white bottles with black accents are unisex, making your metro-sexual guy more likely to try it. The products have clean scents that don’t overpower. Also nice are the fast-absorbing formulas, so you can apply the products and quickly slap on your sun screen and makeup with having to wait too long.

PCA has been around for about 20 years, and it’s one of the leading clinical skin care companies to have developed professional chemical peels and advanced . I didn’t check this factoid out, but the web site proudly suggests that PCA Skin has been acknowledged in medical textbooks as the originator of advanced blended chemical peel formulations. In 1990, PCA Skin’s founder, Margaret Ancira, who is a licensed aesthetician, began partnering with renowned physicians and scientists to help create the products that are now available to the consumer, exclusively through doctors and licensed skin care professionals. The list is awesome...there is not way I could (or would) sample all of them. However, the PCA Skin web site does a really good job of categorizing the products in a consumer-friendly way, and they also provide a good amount of information about what’s in it –informative and easy to use–it’s already a reason to love this line. I wish all the skin care lines would help us out and make it easy to understand what we need, what we’re getting, what it costs, etc.

There are so many different types of products for different types of skin, you really do need a pro to help you figure out what is best for you, but the good news is that if you want to try a lot of products for not a lot of investment, PCA Skin provides well more than a dozen different, travel-sized, "Try Me" kits (my favorite thing these days since we can’t take all the full-sized jars with us anymore). These give you a chance to try a lot of the products that are most relevant to your skin type and issues, for about $20-$180.00 (depending upon the number and type of products).

The PCA Skin® Normal/Dry Skin Trial System for example, is just $50.00. This kit comes in a clear, "quart sized" zipper plastic pouch and contains moisturizing, cleansing, and protecting products: Facial Wash - pHaze 1 (1 fl. oz.) - A gentle gel cleanser that eliminates, dirt, debris and makeup–and your skin will feel soft and balanced. . Nutrient Toner - pHaze 5 (1 fl. oz.) - Formulated to help refine pores, remove superficial dead skin cells and provide added nutrients to your skin–just what a toner should do. . Gentle Exfoliant - pHaze 4 (1 fl. oz.) - A light, creamy cleansing scrub that exfoliates and revitalizes dull complexions. Hydrator Plus SPF 25 - pHaze 6+ (0.25 oz.) - a must-have in my opinion–this gives you extra protection from UVA and UVB rays with an SPF of 25–and it also replenishes your skin’s natural oils without turning you into an oil slick! . Purifying Mask (0.25) - A red algae and French red clay mask to soothe and purify skin, formulated with antioxidant vitamins A and E and red wine. Apres Peel Hydrating Balm - pHaze 11+ (0.25 oz.) - Soy isoflavones and chasteberry rebuild collagen to help skin look, younger and more luscious-- progesterone (this one is good for you) plumps and hydrates for a smoother finish. EyeXcellence - pHaze 12 ( 0.125 oz.) - with peptides, licorice and active botanicals to reduce puffiness, dark circles and wrinkles around eye area. C-Strength 15% (pHaze 16+) (0.25 oz.) - this has Vitamin C (15%) and E (5%). Perfecting Body Hydrator SPF 30 (pHaze 30) (1 oz.) - helps to reduce hyperpigmentation and other skin discolorations while preventing future discoloration –and it has broad-spectrum UVA and UVB sun protection, too (love this one)!!

To learn more about the PCA Skin products, and to find out where you can get a referral to someone in your area that offers these products, visit the web site www.pcaskin.com or 877.PCA.SKIN.

If you like this review, check out the newest and best beauty and fashion items in the Advice Sisters FALL What Works Beauty, Cosmetics & Fashion review column--live the first week in September at http://www.advicesisters.net/whatworkscol3.html